March 31, 2002

A group of girls at

A group of girls at the airport, looks like a soccer team, complete with Soccer Mom chaperone. A few of them headed a glittery rubber ball amongst themselves. One was wearing a North Carolina sweatshirt.
Posted by mikewang on 11:40 AM

March 29, 2002

Mom replaced the garbage cans

Mom replaced the garbage cans in the house with Step Cans, which have the lid that pop open when you step on the pedal. Actually, I don't know for sure that mom's the one responsible for this change, but I think this is a safe assumption, kinda like how Gammons assumed that Pedro is a key for the Red Sox. I can just picture her wheeling a shopping cartful of the little buggers out of Target.

The step cans are spiff and all. I mean, I could be entertained for minutes at a time just watching the lids pop open as I step on them. On the other hand, I can't blow my nose, then turn and fire the Kleenex in for the buzzer-beating game-winner. And now that allergy season is coming, this is a significant source of amusement for me. Life can be hard.

Posted by mikewang on 08:51 AM

March 27, 2002

Travel's Travails

The crowd on a morning flight is usually a diverse mix. First in line are the pros. Suits and tie, blazers and wingtips, laptop case in tow, gunning for a top-30 Southwest boarding pass so they can be the first ones on and off. There are the family folk. Jeans and sweatshirt, carrying a duffel bag. Some have the kids along, or god forbid, the babies (although I no longer fear the airplane baby, thanks to the magic of Etymotic). The cell phone is on continuously, informing the loved ones of their progress, or lack thereof.

Then there are the students, this being Spring Break and all. Most of them bailed during the weekend, if not sooner, so it's just a few stragglers at this point. They might have a book, if they don't have a friend with them. The other notable being that this group has more cute girls.

This being San Diego, there's usually a Marine or a squid or two. They wear uniforms.

The worst part about traveling while sick: I couldn't make my right ear pop, so the pressure just kep building all through the descent. Ouch. That's why I like to fly while dead tired. Yawning is my most effective way of equalizing ear pressure.

Stuff I forgot to pack:

  • Sunglasses
  • Firewire cable for the iPod
  • The extra ADB mouse for the PB1400
  • More to come I'm sure...
Posted by mikewang on 05:18 PM

March 26, 2002

Why Peter Gammons is a Genius

"Peter writes that a healthy Pedro is key for Boston."

Now that's a revelation

Posted by mikewang on 04:15 PM

March 24, 2002

brown The daschound'smournfuleyes. liquid

brown
The daschound'smournfuleyes.
liquid
Posted by mikewang on 10:31 AM

March 22, 2002

Happy Easter

There's a bunny that lives in the hedges around the mini-mall. I always thought that the rabbit was the luckiest creature alive. There's a dense hedge for shelter, surrounded by a manicured (and tasty) lawn. When I walk by, it's sitting on the lawn munching away, watching the rush-hour traffic go by. And what did I see when I walked by today? Another bunny! How cute is that?

Posted by mikewang on 11:26 PM

March 18, 2002

A Breakfast Story

Okay, the Krispy Kreme glazed donuts seemed to have survived their time in the freezer. A few seconds in the microwave and the dough in the donuts taste good as new. Unfortunately, the glaze seem to have dessicated in the freezer, so the glaze layer turned into a solid crust of sugar which fell apart in chunks. Next time I'll have to try the toaster oven instead of the microwave, or put a layer of plastic wrap over the donuts before I freeze them. Or maybe I should just find a better donut shop.

That first sip of coffee out of the little hole in the plastic lid is a little skip of faith. You are never quite sure whether you'll get burned. And going through the day with a burnt tongue is one of those insignificant annoyances in life that drives you nuts, right up there with damp socks.

Posted by mikewang on 07:27 AM

March 17, 2002

After subsisting on a single

After subsisting on a single English muffin the previous day (admittedly, I did sleep for most of the day, but still), I figured that I deserved a big breakfast. Went down to the local Jewish deli/restaurant, or what passes for a Jewish deli in San Diego, anyway. Although there are usually nicely dressed folk in yarmulkes in the area on Sabbath, thanks to the Jewish temple in La Jolla, so they do a good business. I was going to get the Spanish omlette, but the waitress reommended the Tex-Mex special, so I went with that. It was good, but the only thing Tex Mex about it was the extra pieces of avocado and the fresh salsa on the side. The actual omellete itself was a pretty ordinary bacon and cheese omellete.

In a Jewish deli.

Right around Passover time.

I'm going straight to Hell when I die, aren't I?

They were also advertising St. Patrick's day specials. Let's hear it for multiculturalism. At least they weren't selling green bagels like the grocery store. Some things are just too blasphemous to contemplate.

Posted by mikewang on 11:11 AM

March 14, 2002

How low has my faith

How low has my faith in humanity fallen? I was actually quite impressed when the dude taking my beef-veggie bowl order could recalculate change on the fly when I found a quarter in my pocket, so he had $5.25 to pay for the $4.04 order instead of $5.00, even after he already punched $5.00 into the cash register. I dropped the 21 cents of change into the tip jar. And don't you hate it when you buy something and come up just over a round dollar amount, so you end up with almost a dollar in random change?
Posted by mikewang on 06:37 AM

March 13, 2002

Saw a Frontline documentary about

Saw a Frontline documentary about the American pornography husiness. Most of the material was surprisingly pedestrian. Porn is a big business, big corps make lots of money carrying porn, yada yada yada. They even dragged Larry Flint out for the obligatory mumbly interviews.

However, there was one segment where they followed an extreme porn film shoot featuring semi-simulated beating and gang-rape of a semi-consensual "star." The telling point was when the Frontline camera crew was disgusted enough to leave rather than keep filming. The lack of footage was more convincing than anything else that porn is still a Bad Thing. Although the interviews featuring the condescending anti-porn prosecutor made the alternative sound just as unappetizing.

Posted by mikewang on 08:35 AM

March 11, 2002

Bracket Racket

This year should be proof that the NCAA Basketball Tournament is a good show regardless of how they pair the teams. There'll be upsets, great finishes, and the overwhelming feeling of watching at least 16 do-or-die games in one weekend, but the bracketing really blows. As usual, the mid-majors and the western teams get screwed. Then you have Gonzaga, who's a western mid-major, so they really take it deep with a 6th seed and a second-round game with Arizona. And UA can't be happy with that draw, either, despite getting a 3 in the west. Two Pac-10 teams are stuck in 8-9 limbo, and even Cal with a 6 has to travel across the country to play Penn and maybe Pitt in Pittsburgh. People are going to lose their shirts trying to bet this thing, and I'm not even playing the freebie pick-the-bracket games. Yuck.

Posted by mikewang on 03:19 PM

March 10, 2002

Jamba Juice is good for

Jamba Juice is good for those occasions when I've been eating badly for a few days and need a quick shot of fruits and vitamins. Although, if you look at the ingredient list closely, most of the smoothies are still sugar and junk from the frozen yogurts and sherbets. They also tend to have cute girls working behind the counters.

I did notice that Jamba has given up on the soups. Thus ends their attempt at selling something edible when the temperature is less than 60 degrees, which isn't too often in San Diego, lucky for them.

Posted by mikewang on 07:52 PM

March 09, 2002

Today's Schedule CBS: 4 games

Today's Schedule

CBS: 4 games
ESPN: 7 games
ESPN2: 5 games

A guy can almost make a full-time job out of predicting the precise bracketing of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The paradox is that as we get closer to Selection Sunday with a crescendo of games and stats, the whole guessing game become more and more anti-climactic, since the real deal is coming in less than 24 hours anyway. The tension of knowing yet not knowing. There are a lot of teams rooting against Iowa in the Big Ten championship game tomorrow, that's for sure.

Posted by mikewang on 03:56 PM

March 06, 2002

Did my civic duty and

Did my civic duty and voted. Wished that I hadn't registered as a Democrat, since the Democratic primary ballot was pretty dull. I mean, Gray Davis? Although I guess I might as well as vote for someone who represents the Dull Constituency. Looks like the conservative Republicans got what they wanted anyway, so there was no need for me to vote strategically anyway. The thought of "be careful what you wish for" did cross my mind, but I think it applies to both sides. We'll see in November.

It was hard to make a decision on the local offices based on only the statements in the voter's pamphlet. I should've taken a look at their websites, but my sense of civic responsibility only went so far. All the propositions were either boring or flat out silly. Yes on the environment and education, and no for everything else.

A couple of little old ladies ran the polling place in the next apartment complex over. I wonder how many chad jokes they had to listen to throughout the day.

Posted by mikewang on 05:54 PM

March 05, 2002

Overheard

"Small, non-fat mocha!"

"Right here. Thanks."

"Want whip cream on that?"

"Um, sure."

Posted by mikewang on 11:51 AM

March 03, 2002

Slashdot is going to a

Slashdot is going to a subscription model. This is after Salon and The Motley Fool have also gone to a pay-to-play system, and that's just out of the sites that I browse. All of them also happen to be in a downward spiral toward digital oblivion. So much for Internet communities. Different topics, different hit rates, different audiences, same result. Probably because all these bulletin boards always end up either as circle jerks or flame-fests, and it all ends up as white noise anyway.

On the other hand, the Freepathon is going well. So I guess some types of zealotry still pays.

Posted by mikewang on 11:59 PM

March 02, 2002

Don't know why I ever

Don't know why I ever bother to eat at McDonalds. Maybe to remind myself that it's not something I want to do any more often thatn I have to. Actually, it takes a special confluence of circumstances for me to resort to the MickeyD option. It's usually the end of a weekend, after a couple of days without showering or shaving, so it's gotta be the drive-thru. I also have to be hungry enough to not want to drive the extra 15 minutes to go to In-n-Out instead. So it's a good thing i don't eat at McDonalds often, because I'm usually in a pretty pathetic state when I do.
Posted by mikewang on 10:56 PM

March 01, 2002

Baseball highlights on SportsCenter! I've

Baseball highlights on SportsCenter! I've had to avoid ESPN for the last couple of weeks so they wouldn't spoil the Olympic results, but it's good to be back. Of course, it's only a few highlights spring training, buried in the last five minutes of the show. Once the last spurt of college basketball games pass, the baseball bits will start percolating toward the top of the show, until there's enough material for Baseball Tonight to start running regularly. When you're living in San Diego, the changing of the sports seasons is more noticeable than the change of the weather seasons.
Posted by mikewang on 11:01 PM

This is all pointless and

This is all pointless and banal. The important thing is that I'm okay with that. To be able to spew pointless banalities and not care what other people think, tempered with a dash of self-awareness, is a good, stable equilibrium. Kinda like putting the weight machine on the lowest setting at the gym. Not the ideal place I want to be, but a reasonable start. That's why this page is being hosted on my ISP's freebie webspace instead of on one of the Linux machines at work. I don't want to see the hit counts or the access logs. It sure would be nice to have some server-side scripting capability, though.
Posted by mikewang on 10:11 PM